Westboro is losing the homophobia war

Cheers to Albert Snyder for finding the courage to publicly share his sexual preference.

It turns out the father of fallen Marine Matthew Snyder, whose funeral was protested by the viciously homophobic Westboro Baptist Church, is gay.

The former Spring Garden Township, Pa., resident was recently the subject of a well-done Politico magazine article by Michael Smerconish in which Mr. Snyder talked about the loss of his longtime partner and the irony that Westboro’s horrible protest signs suggested Matthew was gay. He wasn’t, but his father was.

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Mr. Snyder didn’t really hide his sexuality — it was known to friends and family, including Matthew — but the revelation came as a surprise to many in the community. Last year, he called the York Daily Record and, unprompted, shared his sexual preference (asking that it remain off the record, which we honored), noting that he was hoping to write a book about his experience — and that certainly came as a surprise.

Mr. Snyder said his unsuccessful legal battle against the church — which went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court — was motivated not by his sexuality but rather the distress the sick “church” inflicted.

Now retired and living in Delaware, Mr. Snyder said the atmosphere in America, where many states have embraced gay marriage, has changed — and he no longer fears publicly acknowledging his sexuality.

That speaks well to the tide of tolerance that is quickly washing across the nation. It shows that, despite its horrific antics, Westboro is becoming more and more insignificant and obscure.